A Judge in the Pray
by UnicoFanFiction
Summary: Judge Garza is a Judge in Sector 18. On a routine call out of a suspected mutant attack on the border between her own district and Sector 17 she has to work with the stone cold justice of Judge Dredd. What should be a routine Judging during the "Crazy Season" in the hottest Summer months turns out to be anything but normal.
1. Chapter 1

Dredd: Hunted By Michael Burness

This is pure fan fiction and I own none of the characters or settings within this universe.

My bike weaves in and out of traffic on one of the many overpasses littering Sector 17. I have already confirmed to control that I'm responding to the 223 called in regarding a mutant attack on the Sarif Towers district.

It's my first call of the day and the sun is beating down on me as the rays pass between the gaps in the high rises. We're deep into the summer now and the heat just zaps every inch of you. It's also crazy season here, the heat making the crazy bastards even worse than normal. Already this week we have racked up two thousand executions, all because these hot headed morons have resisted arrest instead of what would be a normal Ico-Cube judgment.

A quarter of an hour later and I've arrived. What strikes me straight away is the streets are packed with people. It looks like the good folk (and I use that word loosely) of the tower block have all taken to the roads outside. You can see the fear on many of their faces; these are tuff people who are more than used to crime in this gash of a city. I should have known as this point that this was going to a fucking awful day.

I park the bike and it auto engages crowd control. Immediately I've twenty residents in my face, the other eight hundred blocking the street haven't even noticed me yet. The closest ones are all shouting about a mutant going nuts inside. I move my hand over my Lawgiver and adjust my stance. They read my body language as someone not to be fucked with and they calm a little. A fat sweaty mess of a women with a toddler hanging from her tit steps to the front.  
"You Judges need to sort this shit" she began "Some damn ass Mutant is tearing up our homes". The rest of the crowd had now started to jeer and shout in agreement with her.  
"Back away Citizens" I say in my firmest voice. "Civil disobedience on this level is 14 weeks Iso-Cubes" I click off the safety on my holster and draw my weapon.  
"Who is first to be Judged?" I say in my most confident tone. Luckily the crowd starts to back down which is just perfect for me. If this had turned ugly I would have been ripped apart. A low hum appears over my head. It's one of the drones hovering above. The radio clicks to tell me Crowd control is on its way.

I push through the crowds to the main entrance to the towers. The people are scared, of that much I can tell. Entering the foyer alone I can see a lot of blood and spent ammo cartridges but no bodies. The air is alive with charged ozone. I've spelt that before, it's an energy weapon of some sorts. Normally just military grade weapons have this option and it's normally always vehicle mounted due to its size and weight. It makes no sense that a Mutant could have access to one. I call control to request back up. The feeling in my gut is telling me this isn't all it initially seems.  
"You gunna get that freak?" a voice from behind, I almost jump.  
"What happened here?" I calmly ask turning to see the building janitor stood cautiously in the main door way, afraid to fully come in.  
"Started last night, people disappearing leaving plenty of blood to see but no bodies to be found. Well not found until this morning." He was almost whimpering.  
"Found where?" I ask.  
"Sub level 2 near the boiler section. I found 'em but don't ask me to show you them. They saying it's a mutant, they saying it's invisible with glowing yella' eyes." He replies almost breaking into tears.  
"And what do you say?" I ask "Things a fucking Demon" His eye bore into my visor. This is a man with fear deep into his soul.  



	2. Chapter 2

I watch as the Janitor scurrys away back outside. I'm wondering if it's worth my time going alone or waiting for the back up. That's the trouble with Mutants; you never know what you're going to come up against. As it turned out I didn't have to wait long to have my decision made for me. The riot truck turned up soon enough and started to hose the people outside with high pressure water to move them down the street. A little OTT I thought but then I saw who was ridding in beside them. It was him.

Judge Dredd.

The prick has landed.

He entered the reception area and stood there looking like a bull elephant, slowly turning his head as he surveyed the carnage.

"Where's the Bodies?" he finally asked without looking at me.

Why did it have to be this asshole?

"Mutant most probably has them." I finally answered.

It was the first time I've met the guy in real life but hell any Judge worth their salt knows who Dredd is and what he's about. Personally I found the stories of his exploits a little too Fascist for my liking and his death ratio was twice as high as any other judge.

He finally looked me dead on. His jaw clicked even more tense as he addressed me.

"We waiting on anything here Judge…" his head tipped slightly to look at my chest to read my Badge "…Garza?"

"Not anymore" I said back and professionally as I could muster, but the sarcasm leaked through. He drew his gun and moved past me into the stairwell. I'll give the guy this, he had presence.

"It's in the sub levels apparently" I said as I went after him.

He turned his head slightly as he continued walking.

"Those are laser burns. Hmmm… this should be interesting."

"Any reason why a Sector 17 Judge is on my turf" I ask.

"I was in the neighbourhood".

Over lapping each other we tactically went down two levels to where the boilers and energy conduits should have been for the tower. It was dark as hell down there and from the looks of it all the overhead lights had been smashed out.

"Light" I said to my sidearm and within a second the tactical light flipped out and switched on.

We moved as quietly as we could until we reached the end of the corridor. Dredd motioned for me to take the side by the door and prepare for a room breach. I nodded I was ready and watched as Dredd kicked the door in. We entered and instead of finding the mutant we found six guys, all dead, all strung up by the feet. Their bodies skinned and clearly their heads (if you could call them that) were missing skulls leaving just a flapping skin sack holding the eyes and tongue.

"That's new" I gasped under my breath at the sight in front of me.

Dredd moved over to the bodies to take a closer look. I was about to head out back into the corridor when I was stopped by a strange noise. It sounded almost like insect clicking.

The next thing I knew I was in immense pain and blacked out.


	3. Chapter 3

It was the intense jerk on her body that woke me from whatever blackness I was in. My eyes burned with the light now hitting them. How long had I been asleep? I'm still cloudy I guess as I didn't notice I'm hitting the ground, a cold fabric lands on top of me covering me.

I become fully awake.

It's a parachute on me, I pull the thing off me in a panic and the safety clips around me automatically unhook from my body and the whole thing folds its self up into the hexagon shell. What the fuck is going on? I try and relax my mind like they train us in a stress full situation. I calm my breathing and close my eyes. Then I notice the smell, the freshness of it all fills my nose. Calmed I open my eyes and for the first time I notice I'm in a forest of some sort. Never in my days have I seen so much foliage. Where the hell is this? It can't be Megacity One as the amount greenery there is limited to personal plant pots. My thought is broke by the nose of something making a snapping noise behind me; I spin to and draw my gun to find him standing behind me. Dredd.

"Judge Garza" he began. "What the hell happened?" his head slowly takes in the scenery around him just like I had.

"I have no idea. Last I remember we were in the basement of…" my voice trails off as I notice the sky through the tree tops.

"Holy shit" I whisper to myself.

"What is it?" asks Dredd and he comes closer to me.

I'm looking up and I can see… I can see Planets and Moons. This can't be right, where the hell am I, what the hell has happened to us? I point skyward and my legs feel like they want to give way beneath me. Dredd looks up and scowls. He un-hooks his gun and walks up to me and looks me face on as I take my helmet off.

"Get yourself together Judge. This is no time to loose focus."

Jesus the guy isn't even fazed by this. He's probably just thinking it's another day at the office. You can imagine the little cogs in his head working out the judgement for this when he catches who ever is behind it.

But he's right.

I'm a judge and I can't loose my shit right now. I put my helmet back on and un-holster my weapon.

"Where too now?" I ask him.

"It doesn't matter. They'll find us. Let's keep moving" he replies quietly.

I watch him walk off into the woods to follow a stream. What did he mean 'They'll find us'?

"You care to catch me up here Dredd? You seem a little ahead of me regarding this situation."

"I don't know any more than you Garza."

"Bullshit" I say harshly and I grab his arm and turn him towards me.

"Contain yourself Judge" he snaps back at me.

I heard a tiny tone of fear in his voice as he said that. So it seems the great and powerful Judge Dredd is a man after all.

"I'm in no mood to be treated like a rookie Dredd so I suggest you spill what you know before I loose my cool".

He takes a moment then says "it's clear we're not in Megacity One…"

"Its clear we're not even on the same damn planet, Dredd" I interrupt.

"I believe we're being hunted. I don't know what by but it's clearly no mutant. For the last ten years I've followed reports made of similar killings with skinning and skulls taken from victims."

"Are you kidding me? Its MegaCity One, we see that kind of thing daily" I add

"Not like this, not with the precision of the way it's done. It's not some gang trying to scare the opposition by hacking away at a body. This is more like a hunter taking a prize from a hunt" His tone is deadly serous again and free of any fear once more.

"So what you are saying exactly?" I ask fully knowing the answer already but I need another sane voice to clarify for me.

He turns and begins to follow the stream once more without answering my question.

"Come on. We need to find shelter and a place to defend. He says.


	4. Chapter 4

We had reached the edge of the jungle and looked out at the city laid out in front of us. It was alien in construction and nothing like I was used to in Megacity One. We took cover by one of the last large trees before moving out into open to cross into it. The buildings all looked hexagon in shape and most where no more that four stories tall. Defiantly nothing like the 200 plus floor structures back in my home city. Retrieving my monocular from my kit I could make out that the place must have been abandoned decades ago. Nature was growing all over it, creeping in and out of the cracks and holes now in the buildings.

"It looks like a battle was once here" Dredd finally said.

He had been doing the same as me, scanning the area ahead.

"It could give us shelter and some defensible options." I concluded.

He didn't say he agreed or not, instead just grunted. We took out our guns and slowly made our way across the no man's land towards the first building.

Dredd was on point as I watched the rear. For the next ten minutes we moved between the alien structures and along what I considered as their streets. They were move like large walking areas between the buildings than narrow sidewalks. Also I noticed they're no roads. Probably no need for these advanced races and they most defiantly had hover cars like we did back home perhaps.

"Dredd" I whispered.

He stops in front of me and tilts his head without really looking at me.

"What is it Judge Garza?" he says quietly back.

"You mentioned something about being hunted a while back. Now personally I think you're a fucking nut job and off about this whole thing but here's a question for you. What the hell leave us with our weapons?"

He turns to fully look at me and he gets right up into my personal space.

"Where's the fun in hunting something that can't find back. If you think my theory is so crazy why don't you tell ME what's going on?"

Shit, he had me there. I had next to no clue why we were here or why I was being so hard with Dredd. Maybe it's because I'm scared but of course I'd never tell him that.

"Come on, we need to find high ground and…" his sentence was cut short by him shooting his head quickly to the left out across the court yard to the opposite building.

"What is it?" I asked as my heart rate began to quicken. I watched as Dredd slowly marched to the centre of the court yard.

"Dredd what was it? Did you see som…" I stopped myself as I felt it, felt what Dredd had obviously noticed before. It was like someone was scanning my mind. Was it a mutant with telepathic abilities? And like Dredd I could sense it was coming from the building now in front of us. Dredd stopped with his gun by his side.

"This is Judge Dredd. Whoever is in there come out right now. Failure to do so will end in judgement by the law… and I AM THE LAW" he bellowed in his most authoritive voice.

"A little out of our jurisdiction aren't we?" I said quietly next to him as I scanned each window.

Dredd just slowly dipped his head to me. "You ready?" he asked.

I returned a nod back to him and slipped my safety off.

"You see him?" I asked.

"Second story, large window on the left."

I gazed over and he was right. In the corner half looking out to us was this little 'thing'. Clearly not human it was staring out at us. The feeling that it was in my head wasn't happening right now. I wondered if it knew why we were here but before I could say as much to Dredd I noticed he had drawn his gun.

"H.E Rounds" he said out loud. The gun beeped its response as a high explosive round was chambered.

"Dredd no, wait"

But it was too late he had already he had already fired. I watched as the creature jumped from the window as the explosion filled the room behind it. It crashed to the deck and looked as if had knocked itself half unconscious.

"Go easy will you. We need information not dead bodies" I scowled at the idiot remembering why I was so hard on him. Not only was I worried about this whatever it is in front of us but I was now concerned that the once dead city was now echoing the noise of an explosion around it. If there was something out there it had surely heard the noise.

"Scanning the mind of a Judge is fifty days in the ico-cubes or Death. And since we don't have access to the cubes…"

"Save it." I cut him off before he had a chance to finish.

I turned to approach the creature. I could see it almost looked naked and was only four feet tall. It had a large head with black oval eye. Although it looked humanoid I could see it had four sets of arms.

"Stay where you are" I shouted as I gingerly approached. It looked hurt and trying to get up. As I moved closer I heard that same animal clicking noise I had heard in the boiler room. Before I had a chance to turn my weapon I was being thrown across the courtyard by some invisible force. Landing on my back I quickly sat up, ready to let off some auto fire when I notice a large steel net heading towards me. Quickly it pinned me to the ground as its anchors drilled into floor pinning me down. I was trapped and unable to move.


	5. Chapter 5

The metal netting pulled hard on my body. I was unable to move even my head to see what was happening. I could hear the grunt of Dredd along with the noise of something metallic hitting him hard. I assume he's knocked out as all there is now is silence.

It's only a matter of time now. I wait for what ever it is to kill me. Shit this cant be how I go out. But it doesn't come. Instead I hear a beep, then the net starts to loosen on my body. I quickly throw it off me and scramble to my feet raising my gun towards… nothing.

No wait, I see it. It's just in front of me. Some kind of invisibility shield perhaps, I can see the light bending around it. Its eyes quickly glow yellow and the clicking starts again. Bastard! I aim my gun and I'm about to shoot when the thing un-cloaks and raises its hand as a warning to stop me.

"Hold. We are friends" a deep electronic sound comes from it.

I falter for a second and my finger slightly releases on the trigger. I assume it's more to do with shock because stood in front of me is a horrible looking beast. At least 7ft tall, partially covered in armour with metallic gauntlets and a helmet of some sort. On its shoulder is a gun that rotates with its head movements.

"Your friend is unconscious but he'll be okay" Came the voice. I didn't hear it; no it was in my mind. The four foot alien, it spoke to me telepathically.

"W…What is going on here" I asked trying to hide the stutter in my voice.

I look across to see Dredd on his back and knocked clean out. His helmet had a hell of knock to it which was clearly from out tall friend here.

"We must go. They will be here soon" the partially armoured alien said.

I watch in amazement as he picks up Dredd and they both he and the smaller one walk away back to the building.

"Come on, you'll don't want the packs to get you" the alien voice in my head warned.

I had followed them into a secret entrance in the street. It kinda reminded me of a sewer entrance and after a further fifteen minutes of trailing through ancient alien shit and mould we had found ourselves in a large room.

"What is this place?" I ask

"Safe hold" the tall alien answered as he placed Dredd carefully on the floor.

The little alien turned to me.

"I am Allamor and this is Tunga" he motions to the tall one "We are not the reason you are here and we mean you no harm."

Dredd starts to murmur and slowly come around. Quicker than I image he would be at this point he goes for his side arm as he realises he's surrounded. Before I can shout for him to stop Oulett has already reacted with a telescopic spear and knocked Dredd's side arm out of his hand.

"Calm Human. Be still" he warns.

Dredd slowly gets to his feet and looks around. His face is one of thunder and I fully expect him to take a swing at everyone. I watch as he squares up to Tunga.

"I'm going to need you to tell me all you know." growls Dredd.

"Perhaps I would be better as his range of human words isn't that great" Interjected Allamor.

"Enlighten us" replied Dredd without looking away from the original Alien.

I sat against the wall and listened as Allamor telepathically told us all about what was happening. It seems this whole moon was a hunting reserve. The ones responsible were the same race as Tunga. Allamor himself had been prey just like us but with the help of a few others he had managed to survive into the break of the hunting season.

"And what's _his_ story?" Dredd motioned to Tunga who was sat away from the group, sharpening his blades with a laser of some sort.

"He's one of the hunters. Or at least was one of them." Allamor's tone in our heads dropped slightly. "He's pretty much hunted and killed everything in the known universe. There was noting to challenge him anymore."

"He decided to become prey just because he had nothing to kill? I asked.

Allamor came and sat by me.

"Basically, yes. The only thing he hadn't hunted was his own kind. So one day he did just that. Killed five of his own hunting party and has been hiding out here ever since."

"Then why doesn't he kill you, or us for that matter" asks Dredd.

"Killed enough of your kind. No challenge." Said Tunga from across the room.

Allamor went on to tell us that his large friend had started to help the races brought here as prey just because it annoyed of his own people and in turn made the killing more fun for him.

"You have to be kidding me. This is some kind of fucking joke right?" I sighed.

It was all so unbelievable that one minute I'm on patrol and the next I'm fighting on an alien world somewhere.

"Is there just you two?" Dredd shouted over to Tunga.

"No. Private also" replied the Predator.

"Wait… Who? Is Private a person" I asked slightly confused.

"You could say that" replied Allamor "He's a solider from your world."

He stood and walked over to another doorway that lead to another room I assumed.

"He's powered down right now" said the little alien as he gestured to following him. Dredd looked at me.

"What does he mean 'Powered Down'?


	6. Chapter 6

"You have to be kidding me?" I mumbled to myself.

The three of us were stood in a large brick room. In front of us lying on its back and hooked up to some sort of generator is an old ABC Warrior.

"This is Private" transmitted Allamor "he's from your Earth".

"I know what it is. I've had some dealings with these in the past." Answered Dredd.

I've never seen an ABC in my life outside of a book or vid plays. The thing looked old as the hills and the armour on it is battered and pot marked with many scars from previous battles.

"How long has it been here?" I asked but as if it knew I was speaking about it the thing began to power up. We both automatically took a few steps back as this machine began to stand up.

"What do we have here?" asked Private as he pulled himself up. In my head I heard the small alien ask us to speak out. He couldn't speak to Private directly due to the fact the ABC had no brain to link with. Before myself or Dredd could even answer the seven foot Private had already clocked us.

"Urgh… Humans" he grunted.

As he stood I noticed for the first time that the robot had the same shoulder cannons as Tunga but they were fastened to the Warrior's hips. I had read about this type before. Where the hips are there is two ports to attach large calibre rifles or rockets, they seemed to have retrofit the alien weaponary on there.

"SitRep Solider" said Dredd in his most commanding voice. Private swivelled his head towards the Judge and I swear it sounded like he laughed to himself.

"I don't answer any orders to any man" he replied.

"Erm… Can we ask how you got here if you don't mind?" I tried diplomatically in the hope it would respond better to me. It swung its head to me to answer.

"Fine. My designation is 'Private' and I was taking a great number of cycles ago during the Volgon War. Since then I've survived on this Moon fighting to survive." AS he told me this he unhooks the alien generator cable from his back.

"What's happened to your power supply?" asked Dredd

"Damaged. So I need a rejump every four or five cycles to keep my limits at optimum." Private then wrapped the cable up and attached it and the generator to his back to carry it. As I was about to ask him another question Tunga entered at the door way.

"We have Packs coming" he said in his croak like alien voice through the speaker on his mask.

I noticed a red light on his left gauntlet flashing, a scanner perhaps? Before I could ask Private and Allamor pushed past to make the first room we were in. As I followed I could see Tunga extending his spear like weapon and disappearing out the door back into the sewer system.

"What's going on?" I asked with an air of desperation in my voice.

"And what the hell is a Pack?" added Dredd.

Private was the first to answer as he retrieved a 6ft battle hammer from the corner of the room. It looked to be made from the same metals as Tunga's spear. I assume it was made by the same race. Private growled in his electronic voice.

"It's classed as off season. Which means that Tunga's race isn't here. Instead they leave 'Packs' to clear away any survivors of the hunt. They are fierce animals. Allamor, we're heading out to the south".

Dredd didn't even seem phased by any of this. He simply just took out his lawgiver and joined the ABC robot. Allamor was busy putting on a back pack that automatically released light armour that covered his back, chest, upper arms and thighs. Then with a whirl of motors a half disc device came from the backpack on a small robotic tentacle and passed what ever it was to his hand. I assumed it was a weapon of some sort.

"Where now?" I asked.

"We move south and out back into the city. Tunga has gone North, he'll lead them away form us." Answered private as he squeezed into the sewer system.

He was leading us all away with us in tow; the pipe was just big enough to let him crouch walk his way through it. Both myself and Dredd attached our tactical torches to the pistols and followed close behind with Allamor watching our six. As we left we heard a loud bang and a screech of a pained animal echo down from the direction Tunga had gone.

"We should help" Dredd said as he stopped to go back.

"No human. Tunga knows what he's doing" snapped Private as we continued to march forward.

Ten minutes or so later we've reached a large cavern that intersected a large number of other sewer pipes. The place is a huge dome but I can't work out how big exactly as it's so dark in here. We dropped down into the centre to walk across its expanse, the stank water was up to our ankles. A quarter of the way across and Private stops dead. I can see the glow of his eyes turn to look at something towards the left.

"Get ready" he warns "They've found us"

"Who's found us? Answer me damn it" ordered Dredd.

I order my lawgiver a flare round. It clicked into place and I fired it into the direction the robot was staring. The round immediately lit up as its red glow travelled the 300 yards till it hit the far wall. I can't believe what my eyes are showing me. Creeping out of far sewer pipe and up onto the dome walls are maybe thirty demonic looking animals crawling around on all fours. I can't make out much detail at this range but I can see their sharp tails lashing about. Immediately the two hip cannons on private stated to power up.

"Prepare your selves" Private shouted. "Here they come."

"There's more" added Allamor.

I turn to see him looking in the opposite direction. Dredd fired over his flare round and again to see a number of these same large elongated headed creatures crawling out of the pipe we had just left.

"Kill them at distance Humans and whatever you do don't get their blood on you" said Private behind me.

Our small group had now pulled into a tight 360 defence.

"What's wrong with their blood?" Dredd asked in a calm steady tone.

Allamor answered telepathically.

"It is basically Acid."


	7. Chapter 7

It was Private who fired first. The cannons attached to his hips let out a blast of blue plasma, first the left then the right. Repeating a steady consistent rate of fire.

"Deal with the ones to our rear. One of you Human's pick off the one's flanking from this way." the robot bellowed.

Dredd stepped forward and started to double tap his pistol at targets. Private's fire was resulting in these things being blown apart. Every time his fire hit, it exploded in white sparks that lit up that end of the dome. I can see in better detail these horrible looking bastards. They are large hairless, oil skinned creatures. Maybe about six feet tall with long bone like tails and long elongated heads. With each hit I could see the water around them bubbling and letting off a gas of some sort. Clearly the acidic blood Allamor warned us of was reacting in the water.

"Judge Garza" Allamor was in my mind once again "help me over here".

I switch my aim to see the little grey alien firing his weapon behind us at the second set of attackers. The curved edge of his pistol sized weapon lit up and a single beam of pulsating yellow light shot across the room hitting its target. Unlike the explosive impact of Private's laser cannons, Allamor's weapon simply lit up the inside of the creature and then seemed to just take the life out of it. We both continue to open fire and I made sure I was doing steady double tap shots to conserve as much ammo as possible. Thankfully these swine's large heads made for an easy target.

"We have to move!" yelled Dredd "Everyone to the far sewer pipe."

We start to move; keeping our fire constant as we shift across the no man's land to what will be our escape I hope. I'm keeping a mental note of the clips I'm burning through; only two left then I'm down to just my specialised rounds.

I get a quick glance to our attended location and we aren't far off. The black Aliens are thinned down now but still making advancement towards us. _To hell with this _I think to myself as I speak for the Phosphorus Round to click in. I aim are the largest group and fire. As the round travels I notice that all the dead creatures' blood has reacted with the water and now that side of the dome is filling with a yellow mist. The Phosphorus explodes and engulfs a large group. I watch in horror as the mist explodes just like someone putting a match to a gas leak. The whole place rocks with a shockwave as we are all thrown to the deck. I emerging panicking from the water to a tidal wave of flames moving across the dome roof.

"MOVE, HEAD FOR THE PIPE" yelled Private and we start to scramble inside. The pipe is just big enough for us all to move single file as quickly as we can. I can see light ahead as I sprint. We break through into the daylight of outside into what was once a river perhaps that cut right through the city. But now its no more than a semi muddy mess flanked by the large man made walls of the river bank. I stop running as my lungs are burning in pain. Suddenly I'm thrown to the floor and I find Dredd on top of me. The shockwave of the blast rockets passed us into the middle of the river bed. It dawns on me that he had thrown me to one side and basically saved my life.

"Is everyone okay?" I ask.

I get up to see Allamor dusting himself down but there is no sign of the ABC Warrior.

"Where's Private? Did he not make it?" I ask in a panic.

My own tone annoys me. I'm a fucking Judge for Christ sake. I'm meant to be calm in a crisis not a panicking wreck.

"I'm here" came the electronic voice from the sewer exit as we all see Private slowly walking out. His entire being is covered in burn marks and ash.

"Looks like the blast got the rest of the Packs." He adds "I've never seen that many in one place."

Dredd turns to me and quietly asks how many clips I have left. I show him I'm down to my last one. He shakes his head slowly to me and turns away to slowly walk to the pipe. I take it that he's out completely.

"Allamor, we're going to need more weapons. Is there anything we can use?" I ask.

"We have a weapons cache. Not far from here" said a voice that wasn't Allamor.

The voice nearly makes me jump out of my skin as I turn and automatically raise my weapon. My lawgiver is caught by a hand that is now un-cloaking. It's Tunga.

"Where the hell were you?" Private asks sharply.

"Leading Packs away. He calmly replies.

"You didn't do a very good job. We almost all got killed down there." I add.

"Enough!" came the deep yell from behind us.

We all turn to see Dredd with his back to us looking down the smoking sewer pipe. "I want to know where we find these bastards who brought us here. I want answers and I want a way off this shit hole."

He turns to face us. Even though I can't see behind his visor I can tell his eyes are burning into each one of us. I don't even know what happened next, it all just went so quickly. I watch one of the alien creatures come leaping out of the smoking sewer pipe and land on Dredd's back. Before any of us can react the bastard's tail swings round and pierces the back of Dredd's helmet and exits via his face. He's dead, he has to be. God damn it why did we let our guard down? The hiss and zap of an energy weapon zips past me and hits the creature taking its head and left shoulder clean off. I think it was Tunga that shot but I don't have time to turn to see. I watch in horror as the alien's blood splashes down on top on Dredd's body and melts through his armour and flesh.

"Fuck me" I scream without knowing it.

I can't believe he's gone.


	8. Chapter 8

Slumped next to the wall I stare out at the city below me through the giant windows running the length of the room. We're only four stories up but considering most of the other buildings are not much taller it allows me to view across a good portion of the city. I feel exhausted. I think if I even tried to move my legs now nothing would happen. Across the room from Allamor and Private are getting kit and weaponry ready. We're at the safe house Allamor spoke of at the sewer exit. It's filled with a good wedge of alien weapons and what I think passes for food.

Maybe I should have buried Dredd back there but with his body half eaten by the acidic blood of that alien, there wasn't much point. I twist my head around to see Tunga stood at the far side of the room looking out the windows towards the east.

"Are you sure we are safe here?" I shout.

The tall alien doesn't even turn around to respond directly to me. He just quietly says we're safe enough. I don't like him. There is something off about Tunga and I'm wondering if he's not part of this whole kidnap and hunt. Why would this 'thing' even want to help us all? I mean what's in it for him it's not like he needs us.

"Here take this". It's Allamor. He's dropped what looks like an assault rifle into my lap. It's alien of course but looks simple enough to operate at first glance.

"The energy core is still in good shape on this one but it over heats something terrible so keep it top burst fire" he adds.

"Are we safe up here?" I ask "With all these windows I feel a little on show".

"This was an old security point once. Its one way viewed, armoured glass so they can't see or shoot us". His voice in my mind sounds so calm and southing now as he explains a bit more about my new gun. I stand up and inspect my new weapon; I guess it beats having to find new ammo every time. I walk over to Private who is detaching one of his hip cannons and fitting a different type of gun in its place.

"A bolt cannon on my right and a rapid fire disrupter on my left. Should make a good meal of the enemy" he says to me when he notices me looking. I've noticed his attitude towards me has changed since the fire fight in the sewers. I guess he respects me more as a blood brother of battle. Heck can an ABC even process the emotion of 'respect'?

A short time later we're all prepped and ready to move out. I've decided to ditch my helmet, no point since it's not getting any tactical data like it did back in Mega City One. Plus the heat here is basically making it a sweat box. Tunga hasn't moved from his spot since we got here. I decide to walk over and ask him what he's waiting for but before I get the chance we're interrupted by the beeping on his arm console again.

"They're here" he says to us as he points towards the far part of the city.

I'm stunned to see a large space ship drift silently out of the clouds and hover above the buildings.

"Who is it?" I ask.

"My… People" and without saying another word Tunga turns to walk out.

Private rests his big hand on shoulder and I turn to look at the robot.

"Come on Human. It's hunting time" it growls.

I follow them all out of the building and I wonder if I'll ever see Home again.

The End.

Story by Michael Burness

Hello and thank you for reading 'A Judge in the Pray' and I hope you have enjoyed it. I know you might be let down by the ending of this FanFic as you don't really get a definitive ending for Judge Garza. That's because this will be part of a Trilogy and in the future there will be more to come.

I'd like to give a shout out to Darth Gilthoron who has been following and reviewing since this first started. Sorry about the 'Past Tense' mistakes in this as it's my first attempt at writing 'Current Tense' and I kept falling back onto old habits. I'll be going back to sort any issues later.

Anyway I'd love reviews from everyone reading this. And Thanks again.


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